American Express (NYSE:AXP) Shares Sold by Verity & Verity LLC

Verity & Verity LLC cut its stake in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 3.7% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 3,241 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 126 shares during the period. Verity & Verity LLC’s holdings in American Express were worth $872,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Investment Management Corp VA ADV acquired a new position in shares of American Express during the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. Sellwood Investment Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of American Express during the fourth quarter valued at $33,000. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp acquired a new position in shares of American Express during the fourth quarter valued at $33,000. Nexus Investment Management ULC acquired a new position in shares of American Express during the first quarter valued at $34,000. Finally, Curio Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of American Express during the fourth quarter valued at $37,000. 84.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

American Express Stock Down 0.4%

AXP opened at $297.90 on Friday. American Express has a fifty-two week low of $220.43 and a fifty-two week high of $326.28. The business has a 50-day moving average of $277.76 and a 200-day moving average of $289.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a current ratio of 1.58 and a quick ratio of 1.57. The company has a market capitalization of $208.71 billion, a PE ratio of 21.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.25.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The payment services company reported $3.64 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.47 by $0.17. American Express had a return on equity of 32.65% and a net margin of 15.36%. The company had revenue of $16.97 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.04 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $3.33 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that American Express will post 15.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at American Express

In related news, insider Glenda G. Mcneal sold 3,019 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $264.66, for a total value of $799,008.54. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 10,919 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,889,822.54. This trade represents a 21.66% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Howard Grosfield sold 9,450 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $275.50, for a total value of $2,603,475.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 9,402 shares in the company, valued at $2,590,251. The trade was a 50.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently commented on AXP shares. Monness Crespi & Hardt raised their price target on American Express from $275.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 21st. Robert W. Baird raised American Express from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $265.00 target price for the company in a research note on Friday, March 14th. Truist Financial raised their target price on American Express from $315.00 to $335.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. Redburn Atlantic raised American Express from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $270.00 to $255.00 in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Citigroup decreased their price target on American Express from $320.00 to $300.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have issued a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $296.05.

About American Express

American Express Company, together with its subsidiaries, operates as integrated payments company in the United States, Europe, the Middle East and Africa, the Asia Pacific, Australia, New Zealand, Latin America, Canada, the Caribbean, and Internationally. It operates through four segments: U.S. Consumer Services, Commercial Services, International Card Services, and Global Merchant and Network Services.